Digital Workflow for Producing Oral Positioning Radiotherapy Stents for Head and Neck Cancer

Oral positioning radiotherapy stents are devices that protect healthy structures adjacent to the target volume of head and neck radiotherapy treatment, leading to reduced acute and chronic side effects. This study describes a digital workflow to produce an oral positioning radiotherapy stent and analyze its efficacy by measuring dosimetric variations with and without this stent. An oral positioning radiotherapy stent was created according to a digital workflow that included intraoral scanning, digital design, and 3D printing for a patient with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. The patient underwent computed tomography to evaluate radiotherapy treatment by intensity-modulated radiation therapy with and without the use of the 3D-printed oral stent. The use of a 3D-printed oral positioning radiotherapy stent is a feasible and reproducible technique that reduced the planning target volume and radiation doses delivered to the hard palate, right parotid gland, and left parotid gland by 42%, 21%, and 8.5%, respectively.